The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has posted footage online filmed by its Solar Dynamics Observatory that captures the Earth and moon moving across the sun together for the first time.
On its website, NASA said: "On Sept. 13, 2015, as NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, kept up its constant watch on the sun, its view was photobombed not once, but twice. Just as the moon came into SDO's field of view on a path to cross the sun, Earth entered the picture, blocking SDO's view completely."
"When SDO's view of the sun emerged from Earth's shadow, the moon was just completing its journey across the sun's face," they added.
NASA explains that even though they often capture Earth eclipses and lunar transits of the sun each year, it is the first time that both have been recorded doing so at the same time.
"SDO's orbit usually gives us unobstructed views of the sun," they said, "but Earth's revolution around the sun means that SDO's orbit passes behind Earth twice each year, for two to three weeks at a time. During these phases, Earth blocks SDO's view of the sun for anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour once each day."
NASA is the U.S. government agency in charge of its space and aerospace research. Its vision is "to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind."
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